by Jacqueline Rodgers
The Show: Academy of Art University
For the Fall 2014 season, 13 student designers presented eight collections; of the collections presented, four were collaborations between Fashion Design & Textile Design students. In total, six womenswear and two menswear collections were shown, and the designers are as follows:
Jaci Hodges collaborated with Nisha Hanna Btesh on a womenswear collection that was created with the use of Shibori, the Japanese technique of resistance felting. Jaci was inspired by the excess of prints worn during the late 1960s.
Frank Tsai‘s Fall 2014 menswear collection was inspired by the mood and emotion of an international photography collection, entitled “Beauty in Decay.” He collaborated with Andrea Nieto, who created the textiles for their collection.
Arijana Kajdic‘s Fall 2014 womenswear collection blended elements of masculine design with a slight feminine treatment. Each piece in the collection contained an immense amount of handiwork, ranging from hand-dyeing to hand-beading.
Flora Cervantes collaborated with Lori Solem on a Fall 2014 womenswear collection constructed from canvas, cotton, wool, and latex. She found inspiration in both the twisted shapes found in nature as well as the way human emotions are bent and gnarled by life experiences.
Earnest Huang collaborated with Hong Ni on a Fall 2014 womenswear collection. His pieces were comprised of natural materials such as leather, wool, and cotton, and the collection’s aesthetic was inspired by his travels to Hong Kong.
Elizabeth Castellon‘s Fall 2014 menswear collection is compresed of leather, a variety of wools, and uphostery fabrics. She took inspiration from futuristic architecture, interiors, sculptures, and also incorporated themes from 1930s sportswear.
Jasmine Gonzales‘s Fall 2014 womenswear collection includes hand-knitted pieces, hand-made yarns, and hand-dyed velvet, and was inspired by the idea of all cultures combining as one.
Mingyu Du, in collaboration with Joseph Khawane, used unique materials including an army tent, a wool blanket, a parachute, and a cotton canvas for her Fall 2014 collection. She was inspired by the mod fashions of the 1960s as well as the attitude and freedom of the youth from that period.
The Show: Asia Fashion Collection
Asia Fashion Collection (AFC) is an incubation project, produced and supported by Vantan and PARCO, in cooperation with the supporting industry organizations based in Asia, looking to contribute to the further development of the fashion industry across Asia. The promising young designers from Asia were given the opportunity to make a runway debut, together with talented design students from Vantan Design Institute in Japan.
VIANAD ViVi joanne Anais dorsbien by Maaku Susuki is based on a female image in which garments transform women dramatically.
R-SHEMISTE by Won Ji Yeun introduces new arrangements of fabric and textiles in accordance to each season’s theme. Accentuating the unique quality of the material, this brand is characterized by its modern features.
HANG by Mim Mak incorporates modernity with elegance as futuristic pieces flow with every move.
is by Akiko Kishimoto expresses elements of hardened elegance using leather, wool, and silk to create clothes that luxuriously shine in the dark.
AUSTIN.W by Tzu-Yun Wu features calm, cool, and neutral tones with a touch of futuristic gray.
SEi by Yumiko Sei is a haute couture brand that focuses on knitwear. The Fall 2014 season’s theme is “Seaming the Present with the Now.”
